106 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Fhi rsday • September 23,1999
College Station, Texas
Volume 106 • Issue 19 • 14 Pages
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BY ERIKA DOERR
The Battalion
•
llhe Texas A&M Student Senate
jw: 11 loned decision on the recom-
«ndation as to whether or not
B University should close Joe
■utt Boulevard to research the
Be options available.
^^Bciosing the street would imple-
yJJ^Bnt a “mall” concept University
ofticials have designed. The con
cept is to close off high-traffic, in-
^Br-campus areas to ensure stu-
‘yy* it safety.
^^B Elizabeth McKee, executive
vi( e president of the Student Sen-
eadmg. att anc j higher education adminis-
ljr - o: . tration graduate student, said the
rl^Bmpus Access and Parking Task
r ' a W ;B rce W >H review five options re-
todayitBrdjng the concept,
phone * yhe five options are closing
BBark Street and Joe Routt Boule-
ordon :* r( j ) closing Joe Routt Boulevard
ivemmeBd leaving Clark Street and Hous-
bto a ton Street open for vehicles, clos-
uotedi : «gjoe Routt Boulevard and keep-
metncBg Clark Street open while
^Bating a new street immediately
ecifyuBhitid J. Koldus parking garage,
lid he living no bus travel through Joe
Rrutt Boulevard, and finally not
doing anything to Joe Routt Boule
vard or any other street.
Sen. Lisa Woods, a junior
eech communication major, said
leloe Routt “mall” concept bill
ill close a portion of Joe Routt
)ulevard and help make A&M
ampus a “mall” environment.
“As an employee of the visitor
Center, 1 feel that many incoming
students will see this enhanced
:o Diana'
agency ft
aesthetic view and pedestrian
friendly campus as very impres
sive,” she said. “The elimination
of motor vehicles through this
boulevard will increase bus effi
ciency. The bus corridor cuts the
time it takes to get from West Cam
pus to the MSC area.”
"/ feel that many
incoming students
will see this ... as
very impressive ”
— Lisa Woods
Student senator
In other business the Senate:
•Recommended that the Texas
Legislature make the Permanent
University Fund (PUF) a “total re
turn” fund which provides new
funds for higher education with no
increase in taxes.
Ellyn Perrone, vice president of
governmental affairs, said this
proposition will bring in several
million new dollars to Texas A&M.
“This proposition is very impor
tant to Texas A&M University and
to present and future students.”
•Discussed posting class evalu
ations of professors on the Internet.
Sen. Scott Davison, a senior
biomedical science major, said a
joint committee of the Faculty Sen
ate and Student Senate has rec
ommended five evaluation ques
tions, called “global questions.”
1. 1 believe this instructor was
an effective teacher.
2. The exams were presented
and graded fairly.
3. Help was readily available
for questions and/or homework
outside of class.
4. I would take another course
from this professor.
5. The amount of reading
and/or work was reasonable for
the credit hours received.
“These five global questions
will evaluate class courses,” he
said. “The student’s responses
will be better served if the ratings
were available on the Internet.
Three academic colleges. College
of Agriculture', College of Archi
tecture, and College of Liberal
Arts, currently provide their rat
ings on the Internet.”
Dr. Joe Templeton, represen
tative for the Faculty Senate,
said an overall feeling among
professors is one of honesty and
trust.
“We have to trust in the Uni
versity that honesty will not be
punished,” he said. “If you have
something honest to say about a
professor or a course, why be
anonymous?”
The bill requests all academic
colleges at A&M provide the re
sults of their student ratings on
the Internet, and that a dis
claimer be provided on all ratings
forms to ensure anonymity and
encourage students to be honest
in their class evaluations.
This bill was referred back to
the Academic Affairs Committee
for further discussion.
3 and (f
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our Wets
Discussion
to focus on
civil rights
Women in the Civil
Rights Movement
if* M*!
EERS
BY RICH BRAY
The Battalion
Women’s studies is sponsoring a discussion of
Women’s roles in the Civil Rights Movement and will
itesent a video Eyes on the Prize, a PBS documentary
lout the Civil Rights Movement from 1954 to 1963,
Which will be followed by an open discussion, today
at'11:30 a.m. in 205 MSC.
Jennifer Powis, an assistant at the Women’s Stud-
tobedhieis Programs office and a senior political science ma-
said the details of the Civil Rights Movement are
t always discussed in history classes, therefore dis-
ssions like this are needed.
‘We will be discussing a time that is sometimes
Jossed over in American history,” Powis said.
“Everyone can name Rosa Parks, but we’re going be-
f|nd*that.”
I Barbara Finlay, the adviser for the Women’s Stud
ies Program, said today’s event is just a piece of a se-
pes of events.
I “Many of them [programs] are about gender is-
■tes at A&M, but we have a whole series occurring
ROBERT HYNECEK/Thf. Battalion
every other Thursday. ” she said. “We hope to get peo
ple coming to them regularly.”
Eyes on the Prize focuses on the roles of women
in the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Student
Nonviolent Coordination Committee and will show
video from the children’s march in Birmingham.
“During this movement. Bull Connor, the sheriff
of this town, sent dogs on children, little 8- and 9-
year old boys and girls, because they were singing a
song called ‘Freedom,’” Powis said. “I hope that af
terwards we can have a discussion about the emo
tions brought on by this video. ”
The meeting will also provide information on the
performance by the Grammy award-winning acap- •
pela ensemble “Sweet Honey in the Rock,” a group
the Boston Globe called “America’s most riveting
acappela group.”
Dr. Bernice Reagon Johnson, founder and artistic
director of “Sweet Honey in the Rock,” will also be
at the performance on Nov.15 at 8 p.m. in Rudder
Auditorium. Johnson is also the curator at the Mu
seum of American History at the Smithsonian Insti
tution and was awarded the MacArthur Fellowship
in 1989 for hen work as an artist and scholar of
African-American culture. Tickets are expected to go
on sale Oct. 1.
Train accident
CODY WAGES/Tiii Bahauon
A Union Pacific official inspects the reconnection of a train that was involved in a traffic accident with an
automobile at 1 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. The wreck, involving one car, did not result in any injuries.
The train stopped traffic at all campus crossings. The University Police Department and the Department
of Parking, Traffic and Transportation Services responded to the accident.
Friends, family reflect
on lives of crash victims
BY ERIKA DOERR
The Battalion
Friends, roommates and parents continue to mourn
the loss of five Aggies killed last Saturday night when a
Cessna model 182A plane crashed into a private pasture
by Coulter Field in Bryan.
The plane was the property of Ags Over Texas, a Col
lege Station business that provides skydiving experiences.
Brandon, Schumacher said his former roommate, Rob
Puryear, Class of ’99 and the pilot of the plane, was an ex
perienced, devoted pilot.
“As his peers in aviation would all agree, his abilities
and dedication as a pilot were well beyond his years,” he
said. “He was highly intelligent and thoroughly experi
enced in flying jumpers, especially at Coulter Field. For
more than a year, he had flown jumpers at Ags Over
Texas, exercising the utmost concern for the safety of his
passengers and aircraft.”
Schumacher said Puryear had a reputation for out
standing character and professionalism.
“Rob positively impacted every person he met, and
continues to inspire us even today,” he said. “He had a
fire and passion for life itself, never giving less than 110
percent in anything he did. His accomplishments were
many, and his friends were countless.”
Former student Mark Woodings, owner of Ags Over
Texas, also died in the crash.
While Mark attended A&M, he was president of the sky
diving club. He received his bachelor’s and master’s de
grees in electrical engineering. For the last seven years, he
was involved with Ags Over Texas and became the owner
two years ago. He had more than 3,000 jumps to his record.
Bruce Woodings, Mark’s father, said his son wanted
to own Ags Over Texas because he knew the only way
students could participate was if the program stayed in
College Station.
He said he did not think his son made much money
from the business, but he was devoted to keeping it open
for students.
“One thing he always had was safety first, in rigs and
aircrafts,” he said. “All equipment was meticulously kept.
CODY WAGES/The Battalion
Five Aggies died last Saturday when the Cessna model
182A they were in crashed into a private pasture in Bryan.
and if there was ever the chance of a problem, he would
ground the plane. His number-one principle was safety,”
Bruce Woodings said.
Woodings lived in The Woodlands, worked at the
Houston Area Research Center during the week and op
erated Ags Over Texas on weekends.
“He had a lot of friends there and on campus, and
we’d like for them to know [about the memorial service]
in case they’d like to join us,” Bruce Woodings said. “He
was special to us and used a lot of tender loving care to
make sure they [his students] had an enjoyable time.”
The memorial service will be at the Hillian Funeral
Home at 2301 E. 29th Street in Bryan today at 6 p.m.
Mark McHam, a senior industrial distribution major,
said he will continue to skydive even though he lost his
cousin and best friend, Jonathan Warden, in the accident.
McHam said he can remember he and Warden’s first
jump together, Dec. 10, 1995, out of the plane Duct Tape.
McHam said he and Warden have done 800 jumps to
gether, and Warden’s favorite was the “sunset load” —
the last jump flight before the sun goes down.
“We would get up in the air, and Jonathan would look
out the window and say how beautifully God had deco
rated the sky at that time of day,” he said.
see Victims on Page 2.
Sports
•Taylor
"provides Ags
with big play threat
Junior wide receiver
sludes competitors.
Page 9
■Aggielife
•Girl, are your legs tired?
Students talk about attracting
members of the opposite sex.
Page 3
Opinion
[♦Justice Files
Litigants abuse
[justice system foi
1 their own
personal gain.
Page 13
Batt Radio
Listen to KAMU-FM 90.9 at
1:57 p.m. for an interview with
Jack Ingram.
Marshall rules cause
of fire undetermined;
department closes case
BY CARRIE BENNETT
The Battalion
The investigation into the fire
that destroyed the Delta Chi frater
nity house at 6133 Chick Lane on
Sept. 9 has been closed by the state
fire marshall and no charges were
brought about in the case.
Harry Bowers, the state fire mar
shall, said the cause of the fire was
ruled as undetermined.
“[The fire] came from an out
side source, from the grass some
where, but that is really all we
could determine,” he said.
Jeff Hilliard, Interfraternity Coun
cil president and a senior manage
ment information systems major,
said because of the dry terrain, the
fire spread rapidly over approxi
mately eight acres. He said the fire
burned four acres of land owned by
the Delta Chi fraternity and four
acres of neighboring property.
“[It started] as a grass fire 50 to
100 yards from the house,” Hilliard,
a member of Delta Chi, said.
Hilliard said the Delta Chi frater
nity vacated the house at the begin
ning of the summer in order to sell
the house. He said the fraternity is
considering moving into the pro
posed University Greek Housing.
“The house had been occupied
[by Delta Chi fraternity] for about
six years,” he said. “We were in
the midst of moving someone in to
act as care taker and keep the
house clean while people came to
look at it.”
Hilliard said the diesel fuel
tanks, which were originally
thought to be on the Delta Chi prop
erty, were, in fact, not on the prop
erty belonging to the fraternity.
The Brazos County Precinct 4
Volunteer Fire Department had
see Fire on Page 2.
Noah’s Ark program plans lab,
theme park for scarce animals
BY MATT LOFTIS
The Battalion
The Noah’s Ark Project at Texas
A&M is working toward construct
ing a theme park and research lab
in Mesquite, Nev., to house endan
gered and \Vild animals for safe
keeping and study; and to reduce
the overcrowding of other zoos and
preserves.
The plan is to build the park next
to Interstate Highway 15 in
Mesquite. Mesquite is north of Las
Vegas and on the road between Los
Angeles and Salt Lake City.
The Noah’s Ark Project has been
affiliated with A&M for nine years.
Although the University will not
finance the estimated $12Q million
cost for building the park, it will still
be available for school use.
Dr. Duane Kraemer, head of the
Noah’s Ark Project and professor of
veterinary medicine, said the facili
ty will be open to students and re
searchers for use as a resource and
learning tool. The Noah’s Ark Pro
ject is focusing on having some sort
of lab or research facility opera
tional before the 2002 Olympics.
“It will be a place where animals
can be used for teaching and for re
search projects,” Kraemer said.
“Students from A&M will be
able to do externships to learn
about the reproductive technologies
and the management of wildlife.
This whole program was driven by
student interest. I think it’s impor
tant that students realize they can
have an impact on the way this uni
versity goes. ”
The park is expected to house
approximately 5,500 animals and
will cover an estimated 2,700 acres.
The area will be centered around a
460 foot ark set on a 560 foot mesa
lit at night to make it appear to be
floating at sea.
The ark will contain a restau
rant, art galleries, educational ex
hibits and gift shops. It will be visi
ble from 20 miles away.
Animals will come from excess
populations at zoos throughout the
country and will be held for public
visitation and viewing and for re
search into preserving animal ge
netic information to keep up the
population'.
“The main idea is to assist the
preservation of wildlife species
through the use of reproductive
technologies,” Kraemer said.
“It’s likely to be able.to help in
preserving genetic diversity through
the use of stored cells. ”
The construction of the park still
depends on the investors’ response
to the plan and acquiring the nec
essary land, but the original pro
posal was received by the Mesquite
City Council.
The government currently owns
the desired land, and paperwork for
the purchase could take two years
for approval and finalization.